Flatiron



M 26* 1939. .s. D. BROWNLEE :1; AL 2,174,359

m'rmou fixed June 20, 1938 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 aagm ATTORNEY Sept. 26,1939.

$."D. BROWNLEE E1 AL FLATIRON Filed June 20, 19:58

2 Sheets-Shoot 2 FIG.5

FIG. 4

INVENTORS ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 2 6, 1939 PATENT OFFICE FLATIR-ONStuart D. Brownlee and John G. Macdonald, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaApplication June 20; 1938, Serial No. 214,644

In Canada June 23, 1937 13 Claims.

Our invention relates to electrical connecting devices for portableutensils and particularly to an arrangement for connecting the customaryflexible cord to flatirons.

In electrical flatirons it is customary to connect the cord to the rearof the iron whereby the heating element maybe energized duringoperation. The frequent bending of the cord during the operation'of handironing causes the electrical conductor to weaken at one point andeventually break. The difliculty has been alleviated to some extent bythe provision of a coiled spring surrounding the wire at its point ofentrance to the iron, but the objection has not been entirely overcomeas the cord tends to have a sharp bend at the point where it leaves thespring. It is common also in electric hand irons to provide rests on theback of the iron whereby the iron may be stood on its end when not inuse. This further aggravates the trouble indicated above as therelatively short bend to which the cord is subjected when the iron isplaced in this position tends to eventually break the con-v ductors.

It is the object of our invention to provide an electrical flatironhaving a cord connecting arrangement which is sturdy and compact andwhich obviates the above defects permitting the iron to be easilyoperated by the hand or stood so on its rear supports or rests withoutsubjecting the cord to destructive short bends.

Our invention also comprises various features of novelty andcombinations of parts all of which will become apparent from aconsideration of a the following description taken together with thedrawings in which thesame reference character refers to the samepartthrough the several views. In the drawings Fig. l is a perspectiveview of a flatiron in accol-dance with our invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view in another position;

Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section through the rear part of aniron;

Fig. 4 is a view of the terminal block employed; 4 Fig. 5 is a view ofthe terminal block at right angles to Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the block; and Fig. '1 is a top planview. Referring to the drawings, particularly Figs. 1 60 and 2, ilrepresents a flatiron soleplate, i2 is a cover shell which is detachablysecured to the soleplate and I4 is a handle secured to the shell. Therear end of the cover shell I! projects beyond the soleplate as shown atit and this pro- 8 jection, together with the projection I. at the rearof the handle are adapted to act as a rest whereby the iron may beplaced in the position shown in Fig. 2 with the soleplate out of contactwith the supporting surface. A hollow cylindrical shell 20 is mounted onthe rear handle supporting post whereby it may oscillate freely throughan arc of about 90. The shell 20 is provided with a cord spring 22 ofthe customary type through which the flexible conductor 24 enters theshell where it is connected to'terminals.

Referring to Fig. 1 which shows the iron in operating position it willbe seen that when the iron is twisted and moved erratically as iscustomary in applying it to the work at hand that these movements arenot transmitted to the flexible cord outside the shell. The freelyoscillatable mounting of the shell permits it to remain practically'stationary due to the drag of the cord during the erratic movement ofthe iron. When the iron is turned up on its rest It as shown in Fig. 2the first part of the assembly to make contact with the supportingsurface will be the end of the spring 22 which will cause the shell 20to rotate, either one way or the other out of the way and permit theprojection l8 to rest on the surface. The cord is thus not forced tomake a sharp bend but bends in a wide angle as shown in Fig. 2. It willbe obvious also that the arrangement is equally suited for either aright handed or a left handed person.

Referring now to Figs. 3 to 7 for constructional details of the swivelcord connection generally shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A supporting post 26is rigidly secured at its lower end to the cover shell i2. This postacts as 'a rear support for the handle and also acts to carry the partsof the swivel connection. The upper end of the post is reduced as at 28,providing a shoulder, and the reduced portion is threaded. To supportthe handle, a bracket 30 is clamped against the shoulder by a nut 32engaging the threaded portion. The rear end of the handle H is securedto the bracket by a handle bolt 33, which extends lengthwisetherethrough. A terminal block 34 of insulating material capable ofwithstanding the heat to which the iron is subjected, for example,steatite, is provided with a central bore whereby it is mounted on thepost 26. The terminal block is rovided with a disc-shaped base 35, fromthe lower side of which projects a pair of bosses Q When the terminalblock is applied to the post the bosses project through a pair ofopenings in the cover shell l2, one on each side of the post, andprevent rotary movement REISSUED SEP 2 4 1940 of the block on the post.Holes 31 are provided through the bosses, whereby leads 36 from theheating element (not shown) pass through the cover shell l2 and areinsulated therefrom. A hollow shell of generally cylindrical shape andclosed at its upper end, is rotatably mounted on the post 26 by means ofa central opening in its closed end. A washer H is provided between theclosed end of the hollow shell 20 and the upper end of the terminalblock. The lower end of the shell 20 surrounds the disc-shaped baseofthe terminal block, but has a loose fit therewith. The proportions ofthe parts are such that the shell 20 does not bear on the cover shell I!and the upper end is not clamped by the bracket 30, whereby freerotation of the shell 20 on the post 26 is provided for. The angularamount by which the shell 20 may rotate on the post 34 is limited by theprovision of cooperating partson the interior of the shell and the base35. The cooperating parts consist of a rib 42 on the interior of theshell 20, which operates between the stops in the base 35, provided bycutting an accurate section from its edge. Spring 22 is fastened in ahole provided in the hollow shell 20.

In assembling the parts the terminal block 34 is placed on the post 26with the bosses 36 projecting into the cooperating openings in the shelland with the current leads 38 through the openings in the bosses, withtheir ends located in recesses 44 of the block. The hollow shell 20 withthe cord spring 22 attached is then threaded on the flexible cord 24.The individual insulated conductors of the flexible cord are thenwrappedaround the upper part of the terminal block 34 as indicated, and theends secured to the current leads 38 with square 'nuts, cup washers andscrews. The swivel washer 4| is then applied on the post 26 and rests onthe top of the terminal block 34. The swivel shell 20 is then applied tothe post 26 with its internal rib l2 occupying the notched out portionof the-base. The bracket 30 is then applied to the reduced portion ofthe upper end of the post and is secured in position by the nut 32. Thehandle is then applied by means of its bolt 33.

The swivel shell 20 with its attached cord spring carrying the flexibleconductors can freely rotate about the supporting post and terminalblock between the limiting positions provided by the rib 42 and thenotched out portion of the base 35. The parts are so located that theshell can oscillate through an angle of about 90 and about 45 on eachside of the central longitudinal axis of the iron. The wrapping of theindividual insulated conductors about the upper end of the terminalblock provides a strain relief and permits the oscillation of the shell20 as described. While we have shown the terminal blocks with an uppercylindricalportion, providing an insulating sleeve above the upper partof the post as a unitary structure, it is obvious that the uppercylindrical portion, constituting a cylindrical insulating and spacingsleeve, may be a separate part from the terminal block, if desired.

While we have shown in detail a specific constructional embodiment ofour invention, itis understood that we are not restricted thereto, butaim to include within the scope of the appended claims all modificationsfalling within the scope of' our invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. In an electric appliance having a body and a handle spaced from saidbody, a post projecting upwardly from said body and supporting one endof said handle, a terminal block of insulating material mounted on saidpost, terminal means mounted on said terminal block, a shell extendingbetween said handle and said body surrounding said terminal block andpivotally mounted on said post, said shell being provided with anopening to receive and support supply conductors secured to saidterminal means, said shell pivoting about said post to absorb pulls onsaid conductors.

2. In an electric appliance having a body and a handle spaced from saidbody, a post rigidly secured to and projecting upward from said body andsupporting one end of said handle, a terminal block of insulatingmaterial non-rotatably mounted on said post, terminal means mounted onsaid block and internally connected in said body, a shell extendingbetween said handle and said body surrounding said terminal block andpivotally mounted on said post, said shell being provided with anopening to receive and support current supply conductors secured to saidterminal means, said shell pivoting about said post to absorb pulls onsaid conductors.

'3. In an electric appliance having, a body and a handle spaced fromsaid body, a post secured to and projecting upward from said body andsupporting one end of said handle, a terminal block of insulatingmaterial having a central bore to receive said post, said terminalblockhaving a pair of bosses provided with openings projecting from thelower base thereof passing through openings provided in said body,terminal means mounted onsaid block and passing through the openings insaid bosses to the interior of said body, a shell surrounding saidterminal block and pivotally mounted on said post, said shell beingprovided with an opening to receive conductorssecured to said, terminalmeans, said shell pivoting about said post to absorb pulls on saidconductors.

4. In an'electric appliance having a body and a handle spaced from saidbody, said body provided with projections cooperating with said handleto providean inoperative resting position, a rigid post projectingbetween said body and said handle, a terminal block non-rotatablymounted on said post, terminal means for said appliance mounted on saidblock, a shell of insulating material surrounding said terminal blockand mounted'thereon for free oscillation about said post as an axis,said shell provided with an opening to receive and support supplyconductors connected within said shell to said terminal means, meanscausing rotation of said shell when said appliance is moved to saidinoperative resting position whereby said supply conductors areprotected against sharp bends.

5. In an electric appliance having a body and a handle spaced from saidbody, the one end of said body provided with projections cooperatingwith the corresponding end of said handle to form a stand for saidappliance, a shell of insulating material rotatably mounted between saidhandle and said body, said shell enclosing terminal means for saidappliance and provided with an opening to receive and support currentconductors connected to said terminal means, a coiled spring surroundingsaid'conductors and projecting from said opening insaid shell wherebysaid coiled spring protects said conductors against sharp bends bycausing rotation of said shell when the appliance is placed on saidstand. 6. In an electric flatiron, a soleplate provided with a heatingelement having terminals, 2. cover

